Developers want land near Randall, Kerr rezoned

Two separate projects currently awaiting city approval propose nearly 300 new apartment units on a combined 22 acres.

By Julian MarchJulian.March@StarNewsOnline.com

With two new apartment complexes built and two more in the works, Wilmington's Randall Parkway and South Kerr Avenue area is rapidly changing. Two separate projects currently awaiting city approval propose nearly 300 new apartment units on a combined 22 acres. But before construction starts, the developers want the city to rezone land to accommodate their projects.The largest project, planned for 316 Marlboro St., proposes a 204-unit complex on 16 vacant acres zoned as industrial. The owners, RPP Holdings LLC, want the land rezoned to multifamily medium density. When the request appeared before the planning commission Wednesday, several members commented on the request to move away from industrial. “We are going to make a real page-turner here, a direction change, if this gets built,” said Dan Dawson, a commission member.No one spoke against the change in a public hearing, and the commission ultimately voted unanimously to recommend the rezoning, which would allow the developers to build three, four-story buildings with 528 total bedrooms. Cindee Wolf, who represented the applicants at the meeting, noted the land's proximity to the University of North Carolina Wilmington.“This area of Wilmington continues to grow,” Wolf said. Two other student-oriented apartment complexes, Carolina Cove, with 228 units, and Camden Forest, with 104, are recent additions to the area.Another project, The Lofts at Randall, is being planned for 6 acres at the southeaster corner of Randall and South Kerr.The developers are seeking to rezone five separate parcels from residential or multifamily low-density to multifamily medium-density. The current low-density multifamily zoning would allow 18 apartment units, but the developers want to build 95 apartment units.Neighbors on Patrick Avenue are worried about the project's size.“We have a major concern about the impact on our very quiet neighborhood,” Sandra Robinson said in a public hearing. “We're basically being squeezed out. We're having apartments building all around us.”John Wilder, who has lived on the short street for 41 years, said the project is too large for the area.“Traffic right now is horrendous on both Randall and Kerr Avenue, and it's going to get worse,” Wilder said.Though the planning commission recommended the project, the vote was 5-2. Haskell Rhett, a commission member who voted against it, said he felt the project is not right for the location.Other members wandered how many apartment units would be too many for the area, a subject raised in the public hearing by Stacy Venters.Venters was speaking on behalf of DRA Advisers, which operates eight separate apartments in Wilmington, according to its website, including the 364-unit Mill Creek apartments on Kerr Avenue.If the new complexes are approved, Venters said they will draw hundreds of renters, mainly students.“It's really going to impact all the other established communities in the area,” Venters said.After the vote, the planning commission members spent several minutes discussing the increased apartments. Dawson worried about the market becoming saturated and units sitting empty or falling into disrepair.Glenn Harbeck, the city's development services director, said a lot of the housing being built is for students or young people.“We're not building housing for families,” Harbeck said, noting families want to be near schools and parks.Both the rezonings are scheduled for the city council's Sept. 3 meeting.